Conditions for the blue card
The blue card is a special Residence permit, which not all foreigners are eligible for and can apply for. This right of residence is defined in § 18b AufenthG. The blue card is linked to clear, different conditions.
University degree
A university degree is the basic requirement for the blue card. The reason for the blue card Residence permit is to make it easier for highly qualified academic specialists from abroad to immigrate to Germany. The aim of this simplification is to integrate these skilled workers into the German labor market.
These academics are to be integrated primarily in professional fields that have a shortage of personnel in Germany. One example of this is the medical sector. Germany has a severe shortage of doctors. Accordingly, Germany is happy to be able to integrate highly qualified doctors with university degrees from abroad in Germany and thus remedy the shortage of doctors and combat this problem.
A German university degree is generally recognized, as is an equivalent degree. If neither is the case and the university degree was obtained abroad, then this degree must be recognized.
You can use the recognition finder on a special website of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research to check exactly whether and how your university degree is recognized in Germany. Another option for checking is the database for the recognition of foreign educational qualifications, anabin.
Job offer or employment contract
The second basic requirement for a blue card is an employment contract. It is not enough to have a highly qualified university degree; without an employment contract, the Blue Card will not be granted. As an alternative to an employment contract, a job confirmation is also accepted.
It is important that you submit the supporting documents (employment contract or job confirmation) together with the application and the university degree certificate when applying. The employment must be in Germany and the employer must have a permanent establishment in Germany. If this is not the case, you cannot apply for the Blue Card.
Blue Card without a university degree
A Blue Card without a university degree is not possible. The university degree cannot be compensated by a highly qualified job. The requirement of a university degree and an employment contract or a job offer applies. The criteria of a university degree cannot be compensated by other alternatives.
Blue Card without permission from the Federal Employment Agency
Normally, you do not need the approval of the Federal Employment Agency to obtain a Blue Card. The only exception is if you work in a shortage occupation and your monthly gross salary is less than 3796 (or annual salary 45,552) euros. In this case, you will need approval from the Federal Employment Agency to obtain a Blue Card. Shortage occupations are, for example, the medical profession or computer scientists.
Health insurance and main residence
You must provide proof of health insurance to the competent authority. This is one of the basic requirements for the blue card. Another essential requirement is that you have a main residence in the city/municipality responsible for you. Without this main residence, you will not be able to apply for a Blue Card.
What salary do you have to show?
The minimum salary is set at 4886.67 euros gross per month. That makes 58,400 euros gross per year. As can be seen above, there is an exception to this only in the case of shortage occupations. Then the salary is lower, but in this case the Federal Employment Agency must check whether a blue card can be permitted as Residence permit .
Application for a blue card
There are different scenarios when applying for a blue card. The decisive difference is, for example, whether you have been living in Germany for a long time or whether you have just arrived in Germany and then apply for a blue card. Then there are further differences if you come from an international country or from another EU country. The application process is different in each case
Where do I have to submit the application?
The Foreigners' office is generally responsible for issuing the Blue Card. If you are in a third country that requires a visa, the German diplomatic mission in your country will check whether you are eligible for a Blue Card. If this is the case, you will receive a national visa for employment reasons to enter the Federal Republic of Germany.
You must apply for a Blue Card before this visa expires. The Foreigners' office will then issue you with the Blue Card EU you have applied for. You can only start working for your employer once the Blue Card has been issued.
If you already have a Blue Card from another EU country, you can travel to Germany without a visa. You must apply for a Blue Card at Foreigners' office within one month of entering the country. It is essential that all requirements are met. The same applies here: you can only start working for your new employer once your Blue Card has been issued.
Citizens from a few countries (USA, South Korea, Israel, Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand) can travel to Germany without a visa. The Blue Card must then be applied for within 3 months from the place of residence in Germany at the responsible Foreigners' office . Once you have the Blue Card in your hands, you can start your job with your new employer.
If you want to switch from another Residence permit to the Residence permit blue card, you must apply for this at Foreigners' office in your place of residence. The requirements are exactly the same as for the other starting positions.
Which documents are needed?
It is important for the application for the Blue Card Europe that you can present the necessary documents. The number of documents is very extensive and it is worth making a checklist so that you can keep track of them.
When applying for the first time, you must complete the application form for the blue card. The form can be downloaded from the website of the City of Berlin. The application form does not need to be completed again for each renewal.
Another important additional form is required if you work in a shortage occupation and need approval from the Federal Employment Agency. This form is called a declaration of employment and must be completed by your employer.
Other documents that you must submit are proof of identity and documents relating to your home. Your passport is sufficient as proof of identity.
The certificate of registration of your apartment (the so-called registration confirmation) or the tenancy agreement and confirmation of moving in from the landlord are used as a residential document. In this case, the confirmation of moving in must be signed by your landlord. The original rental agreement or purchase contract stating the living space must be submitted. You will also need proof of monthly housing costs (bank statement or the costs of the property you live in).
Other important documents are the employment contract or job offer, if necessary a vocational training license and if necessary a certificate evaluation. You must also enclose your university degree certificate and a biometric photo.
For health insurance, it is important that you provide proof of insurance and a certificate that you are paying money into the health insurance fund (e.g. bank statements). You also need a certificate from the insurer (e.g. AOK, Techniker Krankenkasse) confirming your insurance.
Processing time and costs
The processing time is approximately 5-6 weeks. It is important that you arrange a preliminary meeting with Foreigners' office about 4-6 weeks before your current right of residence expires. You should make an appointment for this with the authority.
The cost of the blue card is 100 euros when applying for the first time. For an extension of up to 3 months, 96 euros must be paid and if the Blue Card is to be extended for more than 3 months, a payment of 93 euros is required.
Turkish nationals pay less, but the same price, for both the initial application and the renewal. The costs are 22, 80 euros for under 24-year-olds and 37 euros for over 24-year-old applicants.
Additional costs are required for a possible certificate evaluation.
Validity of the blue card
The Blue Card is valid for a maximum of 4 years. If you have a fixed-term employment contract, the duration of the Blue Card is shorter. The duration is then 3 months longer than your fixed-term employment contract. In the first two years of employment, it is important that you obtain permission from Foreigners' office beforehand whenever you change jobs.
The blue card can be extended; it is important that you keep to the duration of the card and apply for the extension in good time. No new application form needs to be completed for the extension.
You can do this with a blue card
The Blue Card has many advantages and is very rewarding. The possibilities with a blue card are extensive and cover various areas, both in private and professional matters.
Travel options with blue card
With an EU Blue Card, you can generally travel to other Schengen states for tourism reasons without a visa for up to 90 days within 190 days. The Schengen states include Austria, Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
You can travel to all other countries with a blue card and visa. However, there is one important detail. If you are in a non-EU country for longer than 12 consecutive months, your Blue Card will expire. An extension of the 12 months can only work if you can prove that this extension is in the interests of the Federal Republic of Germany. The reason for this may be a foreign assignment for a German company abroad.
Easier family reunification
One advantage of the blue card is simplified family reunification. Due to the already high requirements for the blue card, the issue of a declaration of commitment is already easier to fulfill than with other residence permits. With a blue card, your family reunification has simplified conditions. For example, the spouse can obtain a residence permit without prior language skills and is authorized to work in Germany.
Naturalization with the blue card
The blue card enables a Naturalization if all requirements for German citizenship are met. A Naturalization with a blue card has exactly the same conditions as a Naturalization with any other eligible Residence permit.
Due to the already high requirements for the blue card in terms of salary, it is easier to provide proof of livelihood than for many others Residence permit. You can also apply for the Naturalization after just 7, 6 or 3 years by providing certain proof (previously passed naturalization test, B2 certificate, or marriage to a German citizen).
Settlement permit with blue card
The blue card brings advantages for Settlement permit. Blue Card holders can apply for a Settlement permit after just 33 months. As a Blue Card holder, you must be in highly qualified employment, have paid into the pension fund and be able to express yourself in simple German. With a B1 certificate, you can shorten the 33 months to 21 months.
Settlement permit with a blue card?
Legal conditions and differences within the EU
In order to know what the blue card means, it is important to have knowledge of the legal requirements in the EU and to know the different requirements within the EU area between the different countries.
EU position on the blue card
The legal directive on the blue card was laid down in Directive 2009/50/G. This directive of the Council of the European Union states that highly qualified academics from third countries are needed to achieve the Lisbon Strategy launched in 2000. The aim of the Lisbon Strategy was to make the EU the most competitive and dynamic economic area in the world. This goal was to be achieved by 2010 and was missed. Following the Lisbon Strategy, the Europe 2020 program was launched. It has similar goals.
Differences between EU countries
The EU Blue Card can be applied for in all EU member states except Denmark and Ireland. The requirements are very similar between the countries. The only small difference is the conditions regarding the minimum income or the exact amount that must be shown. The duration of recognition in the various EU countries is also sometimes different; it does not take the same amount of time everywhere.
Current problems and the future
The current situation for the blue card is confronted with different problems. Accordingly, the future prospects must also be viewed and assessed differently. This concerns the actual goal and also the difficulties faced when applying for the blue card.
Adaptation in different EU countries
Currently, you have to apply for an EU Blue Card in every EU country if you want to work in that country. Accordingly, the direct adaptation of an EU Blue Card issued in Germany does not yet work in other EU countries. In this case, you must reapply for the EU Blue Card within one month.
Recognition of university degrees
The recognition of university degrees is a complicated process. The review process is very lengthy and does not always work quickly. This could be remedied and improved with a faster Europe-wide recognition system for higher education qualifications. Such a system would be very important in order to avoid the long waiting times for the recognition of higher education qualifications.
Achievement of the targets set
Within the EU, there is constant criticism of the targets that have been set. It started back in 2010. At that time, the aim was to achieve the goals of the Lisbon Strategy from the year 2000. The goal of becoming the most competitive and dynamic economic area in the world was missed. At 68 percent, the desired employment rate of 70 percent was not achieved. The increase in unemployment also failed to meet the targets set.
The objectives of the successor concept, Europe 2020, are similarly criticized. The concept has hardly any changes compared to its predecessor and is seen by critics as not very solution-oriented.
The future of the blue card
Many highly qualified academics from third countries will also be needed in the future. Not only in Germany, but throughout the EU. There is a high shortage of skilled workers in various professional sectors and this shortage must be remedied.
The way to gain a foothold in the EU and Germany with a blue card is still the easiest way and will continue to be the fastest way in the future. A big reason for this is that both Germany and the European Union have a strong interest in the immigration of highly qualified academics.
Summary
As you can clearly see, there are important facts for the blue card that you should know and that are important for you. These points are repeated for you here:
- For the blue card, you must have a university degree recognized in Germany or a German university degree.
- To obtain a Blue Card, you must be able to provide proof of an employment contract or a job offer.
- If you do not work in a shortage occupation, your income must be 58,400 euros gross per year. If you work in a shortage occupation and your annual gross salary is less than 45,252 euros, the Federal Employment Agency must check whether you are eligible for a blue card.
- With a Blue Card, you can apply for Settlement permit after just 27 months.
- With a blue card, you can travel visa-free to other Schengen states for up to 90 days within 190 days.
- The blue card makes it easier for you to bring your family to Germany. Your spouse can obtain a residence permit without language skills and is authorized to work in Germany.
- The blue card is valid for a maximum of 4 years.
Are there any questions about the blue card?
FAQ - The most important questions and answers about the blue card
The blue card is worthwhile because it is an opportunity to obtain the Settlement permit after just 33 months. Another reason for the Blue Card is that it makes family reunification easier. Furthermore, you can travel visa-free to Schengen states with a blue card.
The aim of the blue card is to make it easier for highly qualified academics to immigrate to Germany. In this way, the aim is to tackle the emerging shortage of skilled workers in various professional sectors and remedy the shortage.
A prerequisite for the blue card is a completed university degree that is recognized in Germany. If necessary, this must be recognized in Germany or the level of the degree must be checked. Another important condition is an employment contract or alternatively a job confirmation. Furthermore, the minimum salary limits must be observed. With a shortage occupation, the gross annual salary is 45,252 euros and without a shortage occupation it is 58,400 euros gross.
The blue card is issued if the conditions (employment contract, university degree and minimum income threshold) are met and all the necessary documents have been provided.
The blue card is valid for a maximum of four years. It must be renewed before it expires. An extension of 3 months and an extension of more than three months is possible.
No. A basic requirement for the Blue Card is a university degree and an employment contract. If this is not the case, a Blue Card cannot be issued.
Yes, if you are not in a shortage occupation and your monthly gross salary is 58,400 euros or more, you do not need a permit from the Federal Employment Agency. If you work in a shortage occupation and earn less than 3796 euros gross per month, then a check by the Federal Employment Agency is necessary to see whether you can obtain the blue card.
